Chapter One
An artificial thunder rolled across the
mist–covered sky, the unnatural sound signaling a
change Mirian both welcomed and dreaded.
"Do you hear that?" She tilted her head back. "Ohhh...the
visitors are landing." Mirian bounced on the balls of her
bare feet, nervous and excited and scared. "They're landing,
Steve."
A small silver ship, the same ship she'd spotted skimming
along the planet's surface yesterday, emerged from the heavy
blanket of moisture. Dewdrops dappled its metallic panels.
Markings in a language she didn't know were boldly etched
along its hull.
"I thought we'd never see another being ever again." She
trembled with excitement, having lived as the solitary
humanoid on the vegetation–dominated plant for the
past five years, that status pushing her to the edge of
insanity.
"So please don't eat them." Mirian glanced over her
shoulder at the plant looming above her, his fuchsia flowers
angled toward the ship, his blooms serving as eyes, his
visual system as evolved as those found in
warm–blooded life forms.
"Unless they're slavers." She shuddered, remembering how
the slavers had dragged away the discovery team's leader
Denise, the humanoid female's heart–wrenching screams
haunting Mirian's dreams.
"If they're slavers, eat them and leave the ship intact,"
she advised. Many of her supplies were sourced from a
replicator and the machine desperately needed parts, the
rectangular prism frame held together with twigs and
hand–twisted twine.
"Don't let them capture me as you let them capture
Denise. I'm your friend, remember." Mirian tapped a broad
green leaf, Steve's veins plump and heavy with a red liquid
resembling blood, the uniquely Viridian plant incorporating
animalistic attributes. "I feed you Sus, those sweet little
rodents you like. I—"
The roar of the ship's engines drowned out Mirian's
words. Wind whipped her hair back and rippled the blue mud
she'd slathered on her skin, the decaying vegetation's
stench masking her human scent, the cool layer lowering her
body temperature.
"Please let them be humanoid," she murmured, clasping her
calloused hands together. Steve, the alpha plant she'd named
after her first botany professor, curled a comforting vine
around her shoulder, and she leaned into him, his leaves
pressing against her bare back, supporting her weight.
The ship landed with a planet–shaking thud,
boulders rattling, and a tree limb crashing to the ground.
Steve fluttered his leaves, expressing his irritation with
the disturbance.
Mirian groaned, the visitors' careless landing
dramatically lowering their odds of survival, Steve viewing
any affront to his planet as an act of aggression. "Don't
hurt them." She rubbed the healed puncture marks on her
right arm, the scars a constant reminder of the plant's bad
temper.
"You don't know when or if we'll get more visitors. This
could be our only chance." To re–establish contact
with the outside world, to ease the loneliness, to talk to
someone, anyone, to feel human once again. She danced in
place, the anticipation almost unbearable. What will they
look like?
The high grasses, majestic torch trees and white clouds
reflected off the shiny silver panels, the spacecraft
visually disappearing into the landscape. A ramp silently
descended, and bright lights illuminated the void,
temporarily blinding Mirian.
She glanced down at the ground and bit back a curse, her
highly intelligent plant friend not waiting to identify
their guests. He slowly snaked his vines along the flattened
grass and wrapped them around the landing gear, securing the
ship to the planet.
"Subtle, Steve, really subtle." Mirian rolled her eyes,
too exhilarated to be angry with him.
A red beam radiated from the ship and she froze in place,
holding her breath, her stomach clenching with fear. The
light passed over them, tickling her skin, and dissipated,
leaving them unharmed. Not a weapon. She exhaled, sagging
forward, and Steve mimicked her actions, his thin, flexible
trunk folding into two.
Polished black boots clomped against the metal ramp.
Mirian lifted her gaze over a pair of leather–clad
legs, the newcomer's skintight garment covered with a
staggering amount of daggers and guns. Thick gloved fingers
gripped yet another weapon, that gun larger than the others,
and the male's bulging biceps flexed, his toned chest topped
by broad shoulders.
She gazed higher and blinked, taken aback by the raw
aggression reflected in the stranger's
fuck–with–me–and–die face, his
slicked–back black hair accentuating his white skin,
his chin square and firm.
"Humanoid, definitely humanoid," Mirian murmured. The
male glared at his surroundings with blazing red eyes, as
though daring someone to attack him, and her pussy
moistened, his dominance unexpectedly arousing. "A very sexy
humanoid."
The big brute turned his head with a snap and peered in
her direction, his dark brows lowered, shielding his eyes.
"Who's there?" His deep voice echoed as though traveling
over a long distance. "Show yourself."
Helenos no. Mirian remained hidden in the tall grass. Is
he a slaver? She glanced at the weapons accessorizing his
outfit. He doesn't look like a slaver. No restraints dangled
from his belt. He could be a warrior, but why would a
warrior land on Viridi?
Is the why important? He did land and I'm no longer
alone. Mirian opened her mouth to answer him.
"Are you talking to the plants, Xan?" A voice originated
from the ship.
Another male. She pressed her lips together.
The second male glided down the ramp, his slight, thin
form garbed in the same black leather, his skin the whitest
white and his eyes a deep crimson. Finely arched eyebrows
accentuated a delicate, perfect profile.
He's beautiful. Mirian's jaw dropped. Fuck me gorgeous.
"I've performed multiple scans." The breathtakingly
stunning male waved a small handheld device. "Only
Amani–like creatures inhabit Viridi." The tentacles on
his head lifted, each skin–covered strand moving
independently.
Tentacles, pale skin, red eyes. Mirian's shoulders
lowered, her concerns vanishing. He's a Balazoid, friend to
the Federation.
"I heard a female voice speaking words in the universal
language." The beastly warrior, Xan, frowned, his wide
sloping forehead creasing with lines. "And you saw a larger
heat signature."